VINELAND HOUSING AUTHORITY
City of Vineland
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VINELAND HOUSING AUTHORITY City of Vineland |
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Coordinator: Elizabeth M Darmstadter 334 Axtell Ave. Vineland, N.J. 08360 Phone: 856-696-6983 Youth Programs Homework Base Program Monday – Thursday 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Computer Learning Center Monday – Thursday 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Fridays 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Summer Activities Program Six Week Session Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. – noon 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Fridays: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. July thru 2nd wk. in August
Adult Programs
G.E.D. Program Monday & Thursday 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Keyboarding and & Literacy Classes are available upon request.
The Corbin Educational Center
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The name of the Center is self-explanatory. It is an educational facility and services encompass many areas. The Center hosts a Homework Base Program for school children during the school year. The Program is available to children in grades K – 8, Monday through Thursday, who resides in Asselta Acres. The Program currently serves 45 students. Two New Jersey State Certified teachers are present Monday through Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. to assist the children when necessary with their homework and project assignments. This year, the hours of operation for the Homework Base Program have changed from 4:30 – 6:30 to 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. to accommodate the new dismissal times for the elementary and middle schools of Vineland. Youth services are provided to approximately 50 students, ages 5 -17. Various events are scheduled during the year for the children, such as: Halloween Parties, drawing for free turkeys at Thanksgiving, Christmas concerts, plays, pizza parties, Easter Egg Hunts, rewards for good report cards, etc. The trip(s) are used as an incentive for: having good behavior; completing homework assignments; daily attendance in the Program, and using their agendas. Students must bring their report cards quarterly. A copy is placed in their file in the main office. Each child’s progress, or lack of progress, is noted in their file. Daily attendance is taken in all Youth Programs. The Summer Activities Program is a six-week “camp” for children in grades K – 8 who live in Asselta Acres. The program starts the first week of July and concludes the end of the second week in August. We have a staff of four teachers, one aide, and the coordinator. It hosts 30 – 35 children and offers such outdoor activities as: swimming, basketball, kickball, hockey, dodge ball, volleyball, and soccer. Indoor activities include: arts and crafts; a book club; games and board games such as: Chess, Checkers, Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, Trouble, Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Guess, Battleship, Parcheesi, Boggle, Yahtzee, card games, and puzzles. Some trips of interest in the past five years include: Health Fairs with the City of Vineland’s Community Nursing Service; visits by the Vineland Police Dept.; visits to the Vineland Fire Dept., Vineland Public Library, Vineland City Hall, Cumberland Co. Waste Management Facility, Cumberland County College, Rowan University, Bridgeton All Sports’ Hall of Fame, Cohanzick & Cape May County Zoos, the National Constitution Center, the New Jersey State Aquarium, The Funplex, and Clementon Water Park. The children enjoy going to the Regal Theaters on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and swimming at Union Lake in the afternoon. The all-day End of the Year Picnic is held at Parvin’s State Park on the last day of the program. There is no charge to the children or their families. The Computer Learning Center is open year-round. Our winter hours are 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the school year. Fridays’ hours are 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. The CLC serves approximately 50 students. The Internet is secured properly and is available to all registered students. The Computer Center is also open when the schools have half-day sessions, and during winter break. Upon completing homework assignment, the younger children are permitted to use the computers. All students are signed in and out, and assigned a computer. The G.E.D. Program has been operating for many years at the Corbin Educational Center. It presently is offered on Monday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. It is staffed by two well-qualified individuals. This program is offered to our residents who wish to receive their G.E.D. Certificate. Certification is done through a cooperative agreement with the Vineland Adult Education Program. Family Self-Sufficiency is provided through the V.H.A. Social Worker. In addition to G.E.D. preparation, there is Life Skills Workshops. The workshop educates participants on budget management/repair, employment readiness, and introduction to college. The workshop also encompasses a Train the Trainer Program. The budget and money management portions of the workshop are run by a credit counseling agency. The workshops are held at the Corbin Educational Center on Saturdays. Because of the size of the All Purpose Room and the Computer Center, we are well-equipped to handle a variety of events. In addition to the F.S.S. workshops, we also hosted other computer workshops and informational workshops for our children and the families of Asselta Acres. Such as: Computer workshops have been held at our CLC for our residents, senior citizens, and children. Cumberland County College has conducted a computer camp in August for the past few years at no cost to V.H.A. or to the families. The camp was made available to middle and high school students who reside here. CCC provides free instruction and lunch to the participants. Besides the Cumberland County College Computer Camp, St. Augustine Preparatory High School hosted a “Senior Citizens Computer Workshop including How to Use the Internet.” The seven-day workshop offered morning and afternoon sessions. The young men enjoyed teaching, showing, and interacting with our senior citizens and the seniors learned about using the computer and the Internet. Workshops conducted by the Vineland Education Association were held at the Corbin Educational Center for the residents of Asselta Acres who have children in the Vineland Public Schools. The idea behind the F.A.S.T. (Families and Schools Together) workshops is: “If the parents/families can’t come to us, we will go to them!” A total of six sessions were held at the Corbin Center. Dinner and babysitting services are provided by VEA at no cost to VHA or their families. Information is exchanged along with role playing by the teachers and the parents. Translators are present to assist our Spanish-speaking only residents. Good turnouts with positive results! The Cumberland County Extension Service has also conducted Nutrition Workshops at our site for the residents of Asselta Acres. The Literacy Program has been in existence for three years at the Corbin Educational Center. Cumberland County Literacy Institute provides a literacy volunteer, who has been trained by the CCLI. The coordinator of CCLI meets with the future student and proceeds to match up that student with a literacy volunteer. We are very pleased to make this program available to our residents. In the future, the Vineland Housing Authority will continue to look for avenues to assist its residents utilizing the Corbin Educational Center as its facility of the future.
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